Canadian university says no to WiFi over health concerns

On college campuses around North America, WiFi hot-spots are as commonplace as …

In recent years, laptops have increasingly become the computer of choice for college and graduate students. The advantages are obvious: you can take notes in class or work on a term paper in the library. Best of all, you can usually surf, chat, and check e-mail from just about anywhere on campus, thanks to nearly ubiquitous WiFi networks. That is, unless you're a student at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Citing the possibility of health risks associated with the usage of WiFi networks, Lakehead University President Fred Gilbert refuses to sign off on their campus-wide installation. Noting a California Public Utilities Commission study which said that the possible risk of tumors and other diseases due to exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMFs) needs to be further investigated, Gilbert says he's going to hold off on the installation of a campus-wide WiFi network.

Currently, Lakehead has a handful of WiFi access points, but those are only installed at places where there is no wired access.

Are there risks associated with using commercial WiFi gear, or is Lakehead University's president being a bit too prudent here? While there has been a lot of research into whether cell phones cause tumors, with a recent epidemiological study finding no link between cell phone usage and tumors, the topic of the effects of 802.11a/b/g networks on the human body has largely flown under the radar.

According to Robert Bradley, Director of Consumer and Clinical Radiation Protection at Health Canada, the agency will likely rule later this year that there are "no identified risks" at normal exposure levels. In addition, Bradley said that the Canadian standards will be in line with "what most other governments" have determined to be safe levels.

That may not be enough for Gilbert, who argues that the effects of some things on the human body don't show up for as many as 30 to 40 years down the road:

Gilbert... believes there are many environmental impacts that are not manifest for 30 to 40 years after exposure. "Second-hand tobacco exposure is a case in point," he said. "We?re just finding out now what some of those impacts are. Asbestos is another example."

"These are particularly relevant in younger people (who have) fast-growing tissues, and most of our student body are late teenagers and still growing, so it?s just a matter of taking precautions and providing an environment that doesn?t have a potential risk associated risk," he said.

That's a fair point, but unlike cell phones which are held to the head, students won't be using 802.11g base stations as pillows while they use their laptops. The 2.4GHz frequency used by current WiFi hardware is also used other devices which are widely held to be free of safety concerns, most notably cordless phones. We're all bathed in electromagnetic spectrum, some of which is more dangerous than other parts.

The day may come when Lakehead University is blanketed with WiFi, and it may be sooner rather than later, if the president of the school finds the evidence that there is no risk to be conclusive. Until that time, students and faculty will have be old school when it comes to going online. Unless someone points out the strangulation risk from improper use of Cat5e cables.